Indian peacekeepers are present in most of our peace keeping missions and they are serving with commitment, the Under-Secretary General for United Nations (U.N.) Peace Operations Jean Pierre Lacroix said on Wednesday (February 26, 2025) while stating that peacekeeping mission in Congo is restrictions especially in the areas controlled by the M23 group and they are taking all measures to ensure their safety. He called on member states to play a role in brining peace, terming India as an important member.
He is in India coinciding with the conference on ‘Women in Peacekeeping – A Global South Perspective’ held on February 24-25, 2025 organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Defence and the Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping which brought together women peacekeepers from India and 35 other countries.
Mr. Lacroix stressed on the need for reforms in international governance including the security council to make it representative of today’s international reality. “It is very important for the U.N., particularly the U.N., to have this reform materialise… How that can be done is for member states to decide,” he stated.
To a question on Ukraine, he said discussions are ongoing, and asked on the possibility of a ceasefire and if will could be a third party, UN type monitoring, he said “it is very hypothetical at this stage.”
On the situation in Congo, where the M23 rebel group has been making advances gaining territory, he said the situation remains very concerning. The M23 is supported by the armed forces of Rwanda, he noted and the situation is having a very negative impact on the population, the humanitarian situation already dire and deteriorating further. It is also placing our peacekeeping operations, atleast in the M23 controlled area, in a more challenging position with all sorts of restriction regarding movement, supply, Mr. Lacroix said.
“I don’t think peacekeepers are targeted,” Mr. Lacroix said while acknowledging that Indian peacekeepers are in the M23 targeted areas and added that they are monitoring the situation and will do everything to keep peacekeepers safe.
India, has traditionally been among the top troop contributing nations to U.N. peacekeeping. As on October 2024, India had a total of 5,466 peacekeepers, of which 5,046 were military personnel, making it the fourth largest troop contributing nation after Nepal, Rwanda and Bangladesh.
India has over 1,200 peacekeepers under the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in The Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) deployed at two locations — Goma and Sake.
During his visit in Delhi, Mr. Lacroix called on several senior officials and also visited the National Defence College (NDC) where the UN delegation interacted with Commandant and faculty there. He also laid at the national war memorial. He is headed to Congo from New Delhi.
Addressing the conference held at Manekshaw Centre, Minister of State for defence Sanjay Seth asserted that India was a proud partner in peace keeping operations, having deployed more than 2.9 lakh troops over seven decades in more than 50 UN Peacekeeping Missions. On the inaugural day of the conference, the participants called on President Draupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
